Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्म, bhīshma) born as Devavrata (देवव्रत, dévavrata), son of Shantanu and the holy River Ganga, is one of the most respected, and perhaps the most fabulous character in the epic Mahabharata after Lord Krishna.

'Bhishma' means 'the person of the terrible oath', referring to his vow of life-long celibacy. Devavrata became known as Bhishma because he took the bhishan pratigya — the vow of life-long celibacy and of service to whoever sat on the throne of his father (the throne of Hastinapura).

This was because when his father Shantanu wanted to marry a fisherwoman Satyavati, her father refused, saying that his daughter's children would never be rulers because Shantanu already had a son (i,e., Devavrata). This made Shantanu despondent.

To placate Satyavati's father, Devavrata promised that he would never stake a claim to the throne, implying that the child born of Shantanu and Satyavati would become the ruler after Shantanu. At this, Satyavati's father retorted that even if Devavrata gave up his claim to the throne, it was still possible that his (Devavrata's) children would claim the throne.

At this, Devavrata, to make his father happy, took the terrible vow, thus sacrificing his crown-prince title, and denying himself the pleasures of sex. This gave him immediate recognition among the gods. His father granted him the boon of Ichcha Mrityu (control over his own death — he could choose the time of his death, but not, as may be suggested, one of immortality).

He learnt political science from Brihaspati, the guru of the Devas, Vedas and Vedangas from rishi Vasishta, and archery from Parashurama, also known as Bhargava. He was known as 'Bhishma Pitamaha' (i.e., Bhishma, the grandfather or grandsire) among the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Bhishma is considered to be one of the greatest examples of a dutibound officer.

Bhishma was a great archer and a warrior of peerless valour and courage. In the process of finding a bride for the young king Vichitravirya for whom he was the regent, Bhishma challenged the assembled suitors at the swayamvara of the Kashi princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika and defeated all of them. Unknown to Bhishma, Salya, the ruler of Saubala is in love with Amba the eldest princess who reciprocates his feelings. While on the way to Hastinapura with the princesses, Bhishma is confronted by Salya who challenges him to a battle for the hand of Amba in marriage. After a hard fight, Salya is vanquished and admits defeat. Upon reaching Hastinapura Amba confides in Bhishma that she wished to wed Salya and no other. When Bhishma sends her to Salya, the vanquished ruler turns her down in shame of losing the combat. Upon being turned down by Vichitravirya too, as a maiden who had loved another man, Amba is incensed at Bhishma, who's interference she perceives as the root cause of her troubles. She performs penance to Shiva, and obtains the boon to one day be instrumental in Bhishma's death. Amba would be born as a Panchala princess in the house of King Drupada, who as a consquence of another boon would be transformed into Shikhandi and be the root cause of Bhishma's death.

He is the one who witnessed the Mahabharata completely from the beginning since the rule of the Shantanu. Shantanu was the third king after Dushyanta and Bharata, though the vansh (family or progeny) is said to have started with Bharata the great.

In the great battle at Kurukshetra, Bhishma, bound by his oath to serve the ruler of Hastinapura, fought reluctantly on the side of the Kauravas. At one stage, his impeccable military prowess, combined with Arjuna's disinclination to fight him, almost made Lord Krishna break His vow of not actually fighting in the war. Krishna charged at Bhishma to kill him with his Sudarshana Chakra and was welcomed with folded hands by the grandsire. Then Arjuna prayed Krishna to stop and promised him that he would fight his best, for which Krishna was satisfied and stopped short.

Bhishma was finally grievously wounded by Arjuna on the tenth day of the battle, who hid behind another warrior, Shikhandi, and rained arrows on the grandsire. Bhishma knew that Shikhandi was born a woman and to strike a woman he deemed unworthy of the chivalrous. Thus, the warrior did not resist but merely remarked to Dushasana, "These are Arjuna's arrows, they cannot be Shikhandi's because they tear my flesh as a crab's young ones tear their mother's body." Of all of Duryodhana's commander-in-chiefs, Bhishma had held off the inevitable defeat the longest. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces for ten days compared to Drona's five, Karna's two and Salya on the final day. Bhishma fell, his entire body a pincushion of Arjuna's arrows. He lay on the 'bed of arrows' till the end of the battle, and chose to die only after learning that the Pandavas had won, as he was now assured that the throne of Hastinapura was in safe hands. Soon after this, Karna, who in the face of Bhishma's criticism had sworn his vow to keep out of the Kurukshetra till the withdrawal of Bhishma, approaches the grandsire to seek his blessing. Bhishma reveals the truth of Karna's parentage to Karna and implores him to request Duryodhana from ending the carnage that had already resulted in such great slaughter. Upon Karna's refusal and insistence to remain true to Duryodhana, he nevertheless receives the grandsire's blessing. In his last days before he ascended to heaven, he recited to Yudhisthira the famous hymn to Vishnu, the Vishnu sahasranama.

Characters in Mahabharata

भीष्म